But someone is not going to be happy with that photograph. That is the biggest turnout at a Christmas Tree lighting in history. There has never been so many. All of d. C. Comes to a halt because of the traffic is so bad. Yesterday the streets were empty. You look at this picture. There were people that did sidebyside comparisons with last year and this year. Last year, it was a mob scene. It shuts washington down. You cant move anywhere around. People are just disgusted. Guys, it was a nice, warm, mild evening. Yeah, there is no reason. Nobody showed up. Yeah. Interesting. Okay. That looks like the biggest proud i ever seen. A picture speaks a thousand words. A thousand empty seats at least. Thats a low turnout. That would be a very small crowd. Actually there is no dispute. Its so sad. People didnt show up. That will be like this crowd at donnys Birthday Party tonight. I feel a dispute brewing from the press briefing this afternoon. That would be so much fun if he actually asked his pressing is to argue this. The biggest crowd of all. You count social media and satellite tv, more people saw that Christmas Tree lighting than anyone else. News, that was news worthy. Its really amazing actually and a sign of disgust. In separate private conversations this past summer. Its like watching a basketball game. No, they dont want to see the president. Theyre disgusted with him. Maybe some people. Nope. Did not see the Second Season of stranger things. Nope. So maybe everybody in washington owe glow the last thing everybody want to see, too. Maybe theyre home waiting for the Second Season of mind hunter when is it coming out, if they have a surprise drop, i want to be in front of the tv. Alex said a minute ago, weve beaten the horse already today. Im dead serious, you were in joking mode. I think people are really disgusted. So heres the news this morning in separate private conversations this past summer, President Trump urged members of the Senate Intelligence committee to end their probe into russian interference in the 2016 election. Wait, wait, hold on. Im confused. So, john heilemann, i know that he told the fbi, right, i think we heard that he was pressuring them to stop it and that. And that caused some controversy. I understand, im confused, though, so he did this not only to comey and then bragged about getting it to lester holt the russians and Sarah Huckaby went out real proud the fact that her boss did end the russian investigation. But he did this with the senate investigation, too. There is a constitutional separation of power, john. There is. Doesnt he know that . No. You would think. And heres the craziest thing about it. I dont mean it to belabor the obvious. He had gotten into a lot of trouble for what he did with james comey to the point it sparked a special prosecutor to look into it. Theyre looking at obstruction of justice. So while the special prosecutor is engaged in his investigation, hes at the same time doing the same thing again now on capitol hill. For children who are at home thinking, hey, one day, id like to grow up and be a special prosecutor, what they look at is they look another evidence and pot terrence, for instance, when donald trump got everybody towing on air force one to lie about the russian meeting. Write the letter himself. A special prosecutor, catty, will look at that and the intent, why isnt the president of the United States putting out a statement that is a false base lie to the new york sometimes . Its the same case here with the investigation of the senate. You are doing it again him any sane, rational human being with all their mental faculties would say, wait a second, i just got a special prosecutor for trying to kill this over here in the Justice Department. I better fought do this to the United States senate. But he did. Because there is a consistent belief from donald trump that he can bend reality to his will. So i can make this what i want it to be. I can make this go away. Even if that flies in the face of logic and whats happened, because i had a special prosecutor candidate, i will try it again. Because, mika, he has people around him that actually justify him bending the truth and lying. When you have a spokesperson that says it doesnt matter if the fascist videos coming out of britain are actually factual or not the truth does not matter. Which, by the way, thats official policy now from the white house, from the spokesperson in the white house. Yes, it is. The truth does not matter. Wouldnt even comment on the Conspiracy Theory he tweeted among many other lies and stupiditys. The spokesperson has zero credibility. She said he was elevating the conversation, elevating the issue. Yeah, by having see, i actually think shes not a stupid person. Okay. So i think she may be a smart person, so, therefore, what shes doing is even more wrong. Does that make sense . So catty also. She know what is shes doing. Just so we know about these videos against, piers morgan, who is, has been kinder to donald trump than most people. Nigel farage, who has been consistently supportive. Again, came out yesterday and said, this is not okay. And especially if you look piers morgan, its daily, you dont understand what you are doing you dont understand the impact this is having over here, mr. President. Can you explain these are neofascists that donald trump is embracing, right . Theyre way outside the norms of political spectrum. These are people who have been indicted on charges of hate crimes against muslims, retweeting these videos which have been unsubstantiated and are deliberately fostering antimuslim feeling has been condemned across the political spectrum across the uk from the left and the right. I have never in 20 years of covering american politics seen a british politician, a british Prime Minister in public on camera deliberately criticizing an american president in the way that teresa may did. Never happened and there is no one at a time. One at a time. When Prime Minister had the remarks and so i fear that this relationship is a bad relationship. Its a bad relationship. A bad relationship. Very. Bad relationship. Can we go out and find that . Because that was quite a scene. It was actually sick. The thing is it actually sets back all the good work thats been done on intelligence sharing that we actually really need all of us every single day to keep us safe. This does not help. You got Police Forces saying this doesnt help. All it does is helps the fascists and the terrorists. Right. Thats all. Does this help teresa may do mostically to stand up to donald trump . I think she should have done it before. I think the question will be if the state visit is revoked. The big question is okay you criticize him, but you will still invite him for a state visit to the uk after hess done this . You sa you that crowd for the Christmas Tree lighting, that small one, thats not going to be the crowd of protesters in london. It will be walls along the wall. That will be the million man march in london. Im all for carrying on the business of a country even after Tiananmen Square. I didnt like that bush sent scowcroft over to china, but i understood. But in this case where donald trump is promoting fascists, neofascists in great britain, dont you think the british should cancel this or postpone this state visit and say, were sorry, mr. President , not now. And bluntly not until you come out and criticize these neofascists . I dont see how from their own domestic standpoint, their own domestic politics and credibility, how they could possibly have donald trump for a state visit at this point. There is a second visit sort of on the table, whether he goes for a more formal visit. The u. S. Embassy will go across the river and open next year, he can go if he wants to, then are you in protest happened. Will you have enormous pushback from the population over that. Also the aspect, which we havent touched on the security of u. S. Personnel overseas in embassies, what we snow when we have these incidents, they then become a target as well for people who are angry when there is a backlash and americans are perceived as antimuslim rhetoric. Wow, fought wanted. I bet there will be a definite low turnout, be very careful and im dead serious. A high turnout calls for trump to be charged with race crime after vial tweets. Praise of hateful group. So the republican chairman of the Senate Intel Committee back to the first story its hard to be back after the disgrace. Richard byrd told the New York Times it was something along the lines, i hope you can conclude this as quickly as possible. He said they would end when they were done with the interviews. He portrayed it as the action of someone who has quote never been in government. Lawmakers and aides told Mitch Mcconnell. So never met a government, i know richard bur and richard burre burrerr, he burr has been acting in a bipartisan way, over this past year one of the best of the republicans actually keeping their head down and dock their work. But when he says, when he says it reminds me of somebody who has not been in government before, that itself the same way as saying, you know what, hes just ignorant. He doesnt know what hes doing. That was the same thing when the intel chiefs as well came before congress, right, well, i didnt feel pressured. But these things happened and what were seeing here is a portrait of multiple pressure points now. Because it wasnt even just the head of the Intel Committee. He got multiple members of that committee. Other members of congress to then try and pressure burr. There was a pattern here. The times used. Time to move on. Right. So you see here a pattern where he is cornering people on the plane, blunt was roern cornered on the plane. Roy blunt. To me one of the telling points in that article in Mitch Mcconnells words, you could see in his interactions, the president not able to separate out the fact that russia needed to be published for this interference from the fact that his campaign was under investigation for occlusion. He couldnt separate the two. Thats why you see this almost bitterness by this president every time the issue of russia comes up and he had to sign those sanctions into effect. Don, he was yelling, wasnt it like a shouting match on the phone with mcconnell . Well, there was, there was certainly that, i want to go back to your point about burr, put aside his excuse for why trump did this. It was ignorant. Hes on the record in this story talking about the fact that this happened. The most important thing in this piece the number of republicans on the record with the New York Times going to say the president was trying to shut down our inquiry. No whats they felt about the words, the president used the words, lets move this along. They went on the record the chairman of the Senate Intel Committee. He can characterize it or frame it whatever he wants. Hes on the record saying this. Its an amazing thing. This is one of those moments you have to stop and put context to things. Donald trump has so lowered the bar on every level, whether you are talking about culturally, politically, here legally, i can only use my experience as if i were being investigated by someone in the House Ethics Committee, never happened. And i said to my chief of staff, hey, im going to talk to so soond on the house or tell them to move it along t. Blood would have drained from his face and he would have said, you cant do that. Thats obstruction of justice. Like, anybody on the hill. You dont do that. That is grossly just not proper, improper. But this is how donald trump has always rolled. He doesnt care what the rules are. He will push and pull and use every means, you know, politically connected lawyers, whatever he needs to do to get done what he needs to get done and he has not learned that when you come to washington its a different set of rules. He thinks he is back in new york, where you can push and pull and elbow people and bully them. Call the press and pretending you are someone else. And all the rest of it. On the full screen, these are the patterns. Meanwhile, here is what Ranking Senate intel adam schiff said yesterday after attorney general sessions testified in a closed session. I do want to express my concern over his refusal to respond to what i think is a very important question. I asked the attorney general whether he was ever instructed by the president to take any action that he believed would hinder the russian, russia investigation. And he declined to answer the question. There is no privilege basis to decline to answer a question like that. If the president did not instruct him to hinder the action he could say so. If the president did instruct him to hinder the investigation in anyway in my view that would be potentially a criminal act and certainly not covered by any privilege. So it was disturbing to me that the attorney general would not answer the question as to whether he was instructed by the president to hinder the russia investigation in anyway. A Justice Department official confirmed to nbc news that sessions declined to answer questions about his conversations with the president , yet, but he also said the same thing he has said before. That he has never been directed to do anything illegal or improper. Period. Or that hes ever met russians. So, john heilemann, you brought up also mike rogers. At the same time in the list we had of reported incidents where trump tried to pressure someone to end the probe. We mentioned anne coats, the case was reported mike rogers the head of nsa received the same phone calls from trump. Thats a pattern, to your earlier point what would have happened if you had tried to engage with the ethics committee. Take it to the president ial level. Imagine a parallel circumstance in which barack obama did what donald trump is accused of doing. Imagine what would have happened to john w. Bush or any of those people would have done, there would be calls for impeachment that day. I remember the Clinton White house that said it before 1993 got somebody from the fbi over to help them work on a statement and the travel gate investigation. My god, a Nuclear Cloud rose over hc5 among the republican caucus. Im wondering, though, is there any chance that if you have obviously mueller is investigating obstruction of justice so if he had interviewed and i just speculate. I know nothing here, of course, thats always something. If hes investigating obstruction of justice and obviously knew about these calls if he called sessions in and asked him, did the president ever ask you to drop this, could sessions have not answered that question because it is an active part of the obstruction case against donald trump . I dont know. Its lard to see how he couldnt answer that, because we dont even know under what privilege he is evoking to not answer it in front of congress. And so at what point to your point, unable to use that privilege . Especially with mueller. Also the president , too, in terms of obstruction of justice, at one point is it not good enough for him to say, i didnt know any better. These things happen. If you look at how mueller conducted previous investigations, for example with the enron investigation. He went in waves and the first wave when ron was stringing these guys up on obstruction of justice. Now, at what point do you reach a Critical Mass of multiple pressure points where you can no longer say he didnt know any better. Steve, my question, could sessions not be telling us something about muellers investigation again i have no information, if im mueller and are you the attorney general sex, i bring you in, listen, its obvious hes called senators, hes done this done that did he ever ask you, specifically, to derail this . And lets say sessions said he did and then mueller might say to him. Okay. Thank you. Just if you can keep that under wrap, please dont tell anybody that its a part of the investigation. So you think mueller may have already called sessions in and had this conversation with him . Is that what you are saying . Its possible. Im saying there is no good reason for Jeff Sessions not to answer unless mueller told him not to go there i said good reason. There is a slimy reason not to answer the question. Which is that hes covering up for donald trump. Exact ply. Our he told the truth. Just to elaborate on this, if he told the truth, hed be indicting trump, not legally. To get to him. He doesnt want to perjure himself. He will eventually sessions will end up in front of a grand jury on this question. Mueller will eventually i think sessions is too smart to perjure himself. Okay. So, therefore, i think the fact that he didnt answer the question means there is something there that he didnt want to say that would either make trump look bad or cause jump legal jeopardy. Whether mueller thought out the answer to that question or not. He will find out with sessions. So people working in the white house that watch tv for a living because they have to, because their president does, what are they thinking at this point . Like they will be paying legal fees for the rest of their lives, thats if they get lucky. Are you kidding me . Why would you do this neighborhood, still ahead on morning joe the white house is planning to replace Rex Tillerson at the state department. Plus drama has Mitch Mcconnell scrambling on the tax plan. Where things stand right now. First, bill kierans with a check on the forecast. We are watching cold air. Next week, one more beautiful warm weekend to enjoy being outside, getting the Christmas Lights off, raking the leaves whatever you want to do. Next week looks considerably colder, a couple showers left over in georgia and southern alabama to start december like this, 50s and 60s, even 48 at minneapolis, about 15 degrees warmer than normal for this time of the year. How does the week look . We continue with that widespread warmth